Researchers save thousands of endangered green sea turtles in new breeding safety program

Reports suggest that the collaborative effort has saved thousands of eggs and is reversing the declining breeding rate. (Threatened Species Commissioner/YouTube via Storyful)

wabc

Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Scientists in Australia developed a program to save countless thousands of endangered green sea turtles from falling to their deaths while attempting to lay their eggs.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest breeding site for these green sea turtles, with more than 60,000 of them laying their eggs on the remote Raine Island each year. However, successful hatchings have dropped 80 percent in recent years as the mother turtles fall off sand cliffs and die.

To save the species, researchers and rangers from both Australian and Queensland governments, along with staff from BHP Billiton, executed the Raine Island Recovery Project to reshape the beach on Raine Island and use pool fencing to keep the turtles out of harm's way.

The two governments have jointly invested $2,500,000 and BHP has committed $5,450,000 over the next five years, according to the original YouTube video recorded by Australian Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews.

Reports suggest that the collaborative efforts has saved thousands of eggs and is reversing the declining breeding rate.